![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/78\/590x\/secondary\/ryanair-michael-o-leary-pie-brussels-4948036.jpg?r=1694089668403\")
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Ryanair’s chief, Michael O’Leary, found himself at the centre of an unusual protest in Brussels today (September 7).<\/p>\n
As he prepared to address the media and advocate for protecting flights in Europe ahead of strike action by pilots in Belgium, the 62-year-old CEO became the target of eco-activists armed with cream pies.<\/p>\n
O’Leary, flanked by a cardboard cut-out of EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen during an interview, was unexpectedly confronted by a black-clad woman who swiftly launched a cream pie directly into his face.<\/p>\n
Startled, O’Leary instinctively recoiled, creating an opening for a second activist to sneak up and deliver a second creamy assault down the back of his neck.<\/p>\n
The activists made a hasty exit, cheering as they disappeared from the scene, and O’Leary, displaying remarkable sportsmanship, responded with a wry remark: “Welcome to Belgium!” He continued with a touch of humour, saying, “Well done!”<\/p>\n
READ MORE: <\/strong> \u2018I quit my dream job to work at McDonald\u2019s because I get paid more\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Surprisingly, the incident appeared to leave the Ryanair boss unfazed. Speaking to the media afterwards, O’Leary quipped: “Unfortunately it was environmentalists and the cream was artificial. I invite passengers to come to Ireland where the cream is better!”<\/p>\n It comes as the airline giant revealed that around 63,000 of its passengers saw their flights cancelled during last week’s air traffic control failure which caused widespread disruption across the industry and left thousands of passengers stranded overseas.<\/p>\n In its August traffic update, the Irish carrier said more than 350 of its flights were cancelled on August 28 and 29 due to the air traffic control (ATC) issue.<\/p>\n Don’t miss… <\/strong> We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n More than a quarter of all flights to and from UK airports were cancelled on Monday, August 28 as National Air Traffic Services (Nats) were unable to process flight plans automatically.<\/p>\n The knock-on effect continued for two more days and is said to have wrecked the travel plans of around a quarter of a million people.<\/p>\n Ryanair said the ATC failure “has still not been explained”.<\/p>\n Airlines have been infuriated by the incident, which came at one of the worst times of the year, with little spare capacity across the sector due to it being the end of the summer break for many schools.<\/p>\n O’Leary last week criticised Nats, calling the disruption “unacceptable”.<\/p>\n In a video message, the group’s boss described Monday as “a very difficult day” and hit out at Nats for failing to adequately explain what caused the failure and questioning why back-up systems did not kick in.<\/p>\n Rival easyJet’s chief executive Johan Lundgren also last week demanded that a “full independent review” is launched into the failure and said it “must not happen again”.<\/p>\n
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